Like the People of the Past
By Ella Weiss

The scorching afternoon sun
is burning my back,
my jeans,
plastered to my legs,
my forehead
beaded with sweat.
I glance at my teacher
as she,
one by one,
chooses team captains.
As they start to select
I look around
and all the girls are there,
waiting intensively
hoping they get spared
the humiliation of being
the last one standing.
But of course,
the next person who is chosen is a
short-haired boy,
and the next,
and the next.

During the game,
the boys in front,
their shouts
calling to be
first,
second,
third,
as the girls’ silence
isn’t heard
by the crowd.

When I got home,
exhausted from the day,
I told my mom about it.
Her caring eyes
and warm smile
help me relax,
her wise words
comforted me.
She told me
I’m an incredible girl,
I’m a smart girl,
and she couldn’t be prouder.
It is heartbreaking
to know there are people who
think girls
are weaker,
dummer.

And so,
I learned I just have to
push out the thought,
the same way Samuel Adams
and the other fighters
pushed the tea from the ship,
sending it spiraling
into the dark,
mysterious ocean.
Push the thought away,
but also fight for your belief,
the same way
our one and only
Martin Luther King Junior
got up and fought,
day and night,
through gunshots
and the screams of his people.
Know the difference
between right and wrong,
like Janis Joplin,
who knew from the start,
when she heard her voice,
so similar to her father’s and her brother’s,
when she knew
she didn’t need
a tight dress,
lipstick and blush,
trading those in for
comfortable pants
and a baggy shirt.
I will be like
the people of the past,
pushing the thought,
fighting for my values,
knowing what I need to know,
not what I’m told.

The next kickball day,
I held my head up,
even if I wasn’t chosen first,
or kicked first,
for I know,
in the future,
I will make a difference,
a change.
As I stood in line,
my laughter roaring
like a lion,
the king of the jungle,
my mind filled to the brim
with my mom’s words,
and my smile grows,
shining brighter than the sun,
knowing I will be like
the people of the the past.